Orphans Found at a HotelIn 2011, four coyotes were discovered motherless at a closed historic hotel in Florida. That summer, Naples Zoo was selected as the home for the orphan coyotes. Upon the pups’ arrival, Naples Zoo staff adopted a Plott hound from Humane Society Naples. She served as an assuring maternal figure and taught them social skills. As they matured, she was no longer needed and she moved out and continues to live at the Zoo.

Urban Coyotes
The coyote’s eerie howl was once the iconic sound of the American West, but today these canines have been spotted everywhere from hopping on the light-rail train in Portland to jogging on the Columbia University campus in Manhattan.

“Coyote numbers are on the rise across the country and here in southwest Florida,” explained Naples Zoo Director of Conservation Tim L. Tetzlaff. “These four coyotes help us teach guests how they can best live with local predators,”

“The good news,” says Tetzlaff, “is that many of the same strategies for living safely around the bears and panthers in Florida apply to coyotes as well.” One example is using bear-proof trashcans like the one seen at the Zoo’s Black bear habitat. Other practices include keeping the areas under bird feeders and fruit trees clean. These food items attract the predators themselves or smaller animals that the predators hunt.

Not allowing your pets to roam also protects them from these predators. (This last one is also the law. It is illegal in Collier County to allow either your pet dog or cat to roam freely.)

As people killed off wolves and altered habitats, coyotes expanded their range. This highly adaptable species has been seen everywhere from dodging taxis in New York City to stalking cats in suburban Florida.